BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack saw their road struggles continue Wednesday night in Syracuse, dropping their third game in a row to open a five-game road trip. The Wolf Pack entered the third period tied 1-1 but could not hold off a barrage of three goals by the Syracuse Crunch in the final frame as the home side skated away with a 4-2 decision.
After breaking the tie 2:03 into the third period, the Crunch struck for an insurance marker just 2:16 later. Darren Raddysh, who played parts of three seasons with the Wolf Pack, got his revenge on his former team with his sixth goal of the season. Raddysh weaved into the far faceoff circle in the Wolf Pack zone and snapped a shot over the shoulder of Adam Húska to push the lead to 3-1 at 4:19. While it was the insurance at the time, the goal would eventually end up as the winner for the Crunch.
The Crunch opened the scoring late in the first period, with the sides playing four-on-four. With Syracuse’s Sean Day serving a cross-checking penalty, the Crunch were able to create a shorthanded opportunity. However, Tarmo Reunanen was whistled for a holding infraction at the 19:15 mark, trying to break the chance up, setting the table for a four-on-four situation.
Alex Barré-Boulet collected the puck behind the Wolf Pack goal and attempted a backhand pass into the slot. After failing to get the puck in front, Barré-Boulet regained possession and elected to try a wraparound attempt. He was able to tuck it by Húska for his ninth goal of the season at 19:30 to give the Crunch the lead.
Hartford managed to tie the game 1-1 with the lone goal of the middle stanza. Justin Richards fired home his sixth goal of the season 4:41 into the period, beating Max Legace to snap a seven-game scoring drought. Richards took a pass in the slot from Hunter Skinner, then quickly moved into a shooting position and rifled home the marker to even the score.
Otto Somppi broke the tie 2:03 into the third period. Somppi carried the puck into the offensive zone on a two-on-one with a pair of Wolf Pack defenders racing back. The Finnish forward slowed up in the far faceoff circle, pulled off the toe-drag, and then sniped home the goal that gave the Crunch a lead they would not lose. Moments later, Raddysh would tack on the eventual winner.
Gabriel Fortier extended the lead to 4-1 at the 14:44 mark of the period. Fortier forced a turnover in the neutral zone and entered the Hartford end with possession before dropping the puck off to Simon Ryfors. Ryfors cut to the goal but pushed a backhand shot just wide. Somppi found the loose puck and quickly sent it to the slot, where Fortier received the pass and fired home his eleventh goal of the season.
Hartford did get a goal back late, as Zac Jones scored his sixth goal of the season at the 18:00 mark. Jones snuck in undetected down the near side of the Syracuse zone. Jeff Taylor found him and placed a perfect cross-ice pass onto Jones’ stick for the tap-in goal. The assist was the first of the season for Taylor.
The Wolf Pack conclude their five-game road trip with a pair of games in Canada this weekend. First, the Pack pays their lone visit to the Laval Rocket on Friday night. Then, the club makes the first of two trips to Belleville to take on the Senators on Saturday evening. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd, when they take on the Springfield Thunderbirds. The game kicks off a four-game homestand. Tickets for all remaining Wolf Pack home games are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
